Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 30, 1995 TAG: 9507310090
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. LENGTH: Medium
Soon, other players may do the same.
Seles returned Saturday with her famous grunt, that distinct sound of summers past renewed after a long absence, a court once again resonant with her thrumming cadence on two-fisted, swing-from-the-heels ground strokes.
Taller, stronger and perhaps better than ever, Seles brandished a wicked serve and attacking shots she once only dreamed of hitting.
The score, a 6-3, 6-2 victory by Seles over semiretired and slightly injured Navratilova, hardly mattered. This was an exhibition that marked an end and a beginning for the 21-year-old: the closure of one tormented chapter in her life from the courtside knife attack on April 30, 1993, in Germany and the start of a new phase that carries the promise of more championships.
A national television audience and the crowd of 7,500 at the Atlantic City Convention Center saw the gleeful revival of a great career that had been perilously close to abandonment after Seles won eight Grand Slam titles by the age of 19.
Nervous and tentative at the start, Seles dumped her first two serves into the net, the first of her six double-faults in the match. But she won the next point, stretching for a backhand and passing Navratilova down the line. It was vintage Seles, and there would be plenty more of those shots, along with applause from Navratilova.
For the first few games, the match seemed subdued, as if it were incidental to Seles' return. Seles had received a two-minute standing ovation when she came onto the court smiling and giggling, walking tall in a white dress with a white lace scrunchie containing her long brown hair.
``Leading up to here, it's been very nerve-wracking, especially the last week or so,'' she said. ``Today when I walked through the locker room and onto the court, it was just an unbelievable feeling. I can't even put it into words.''
As the ovation continued, Seles buried her face in her hands almost in embarrassment. She slapped a high-five with Navratilova, exchanged kisses, and began her comeback a few minutes later.
Seles won the first game with a service winner as hard as any she ever hit - thanks to the 2 inches she grew in the past two years to reach nearly 5-foot-11. And by the time her grunting became louder midway through the first set, she seemed as strong as ever.
In the second set, Seles double-faulted three times, a small penalty for a much bigger serve than she had two years ago. She had two aces and several service winners, played aggressively, moved well in mincing steps and hit hard from both sides. She struck shots cleanly and never lost serve.
``I still can't believe I'm actually doing this and I'm actually here'', she said. ``It's like a dream ... It's so exciting. It's what I love to do, it's all I've ever asked for.''
by CNB